He was an ardent believer in the ability of man
to fly by soaring means, and without using power
for the purpose.
It is doubtful whether gliders contributed much
to the art in the direction of laterally stabilizing
aeroplanes. They taught useful lessons with respect
to area and fore and aft control.
The kite gave the first impulse to seek out a
means for giving equilibrium to planes, and
Montgomery made a kite with warping wings as
early as 1884.
Penaud, a Frenchman, in 1872, made a model
aeroplane which had the stabilizing means in the
tail. All these grew out of kite experiments; and
all gliders followed the kite construction, or the
principles involved in them, so that, really, there
is but one intervening step between the kite and
the flying machine, as we know it, the latter being
merely kites with power attached, as substitutes
for the cords.
ONE OF THE USES OF GLIDER EXPERIMENTS.--
There is one direction in which gliders are valuable
to the boy and to the novice who are interested
in aviation. He may spend a lifetime in
gliding and not advance in the art. It is
questionable whether in a scientific way it will be of
any service to him; but experiments of this character
give confidence, the ability to quickly grasp
a situation, and it will thus teach self reliance in
emergencies.
When in a glider quick thinking is necessary.
The ability to shift from one position to another;
to apply the weight where required instantaneously;
to be able during the brief exciting moment
of flight to know just what to do, requires alertness.
Some are so wedded to the earth that slight
elevation disturbs them. The sensation in a
glider while in flight is unlike any other experience.
It is like riding a lot of tense springs, and the
exhilaration in gliding down the side of a hill,
with the feet free and body suspended, is quite
different from riding in an aeroplane with power
attached.
HINTS IN GLIDING.--It seems to be a difficult
matter to give any advice in the art of gliding. It
is a feat which seems to necessitate experiment
from first to last. During the hundreds of tests
personally made, and after witnessing thousands
of attempts, there seems to be only a few suggestions
or possible directions in which caution might
be offered.
First, in respect to the position of the body at
the moment of launching. The glider is usually
so made that in carrying it, preparatory to making
the run and the leap required to glide, it is held
so that it balances in the hands.
Now the center of air pressure in gliding may
not be at the same point as its sustaining weight
when held by the hand, and furthermore, as the
arm-pits, by which the body of the experimenter
are held while gliding, are not at the same point,
but to the rear of the hands, the moment the glider
is launched too great a weight is brought to the
rear margin of the planes, hence its forward end
lifts up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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